Art and Armor. East West. Crossing Continents and Cultures

Conflict and conquest have always been constant components of human history, and protective armor too has been used throughout recorded history. Across continents, cultures and centuries, the development of armor has always run parallel to the development of weapon efficiency on the battlefield. From rudimentary hides and leather to bronze and steel, and now more modern materials, the military objective of armor has also been constant: to increase protection without sacrificing combatant mobility and performance.
As past civilizations evolved however, armor and weaponry embodied other objectives: symbols of power, manifestations of wealth, functions of ceremony, and as a result, expressions of exquisite artistic ability. Despite certain shared characteristics, various factors influenced the evolution of the art of armor in different cultures around the globe, such as the physical environment, technical capabilities, battlefield conditions, even climate and available natural resources.

This broad, bold, and sweeping exhibition explores the art of armor and arms from a myriad of historical perspectives, displaying exemplars of various cultures in confrontation and comparison. Conceived as a journey, spanning centuries from the late 1400s to the late 1800s, and crossing continents, some 120 original objects give testimony to the evolution of elements of iconic armor and weaponry as they evolved and were deployed across a broad expanse of world geography and history: Europe, Turkiye, Persia, India and Japan. Drawn from the renowned collections of the Museo Stibbert of Florence, Italy, the selection of objects also focuses on the unique, and often exquisite artistic craftsmanship of the objects – masterpieces of metallurgy, goldsmithing, embossing, lacquer – to name a few, but all of astounding visual impact. An array of objects also give cultural context to the societies which produced the armor and arms on show, completing the overview of this phenomenon, common to most social organizations from tribes to kingdoms around the world.